Signs

M. Night Shyamalan has become something of a sure thing. Walking into the theater for his now heavily anticipated films you know you're going to witness something of quality. There are very few directors that this trait applies to, even directors like Steven Spielberg cannnot claim to have it. Of course, Shyamalan has only three major films to his credit, but he surely has burst onto the scene with fury. His films, both past and present, are spoken about with reverence.

And with Signs he continues his evolution as a master of atmosphere. Signs is cleverly constructed horror. Shyamalan has shown the ability to scare you to death while using simple techniques: subtle use of sound, including carefully placed silence, and drastic changes of light levels within a single frame. It is with these techniques that Shyamalan produces simple, yet terrifyingly real images: the slow stroll of something through camera view, the distant sight of that something with evocative rear-lighting, or the hazy reflection of that same something where it shouldn't be.

And in these ways Signs creates some startlingly memorable and haunting images. It is here that you'll hear the audience around you screaming at the top of their lungs. It is here that you'll fear your heart skip a beat or two. Sitting through such an effective piece of horror is exhilirating and sometimes painful; you're begging the characters to stay out of that damned corn field where they can't see farther than two feet in front of them. And you squirm when they drop their flashlight, erasing their already limited field of vision.

It's a pleasure to see Shyamalan's growth as a director. His use of music is much more effective this time around. Perhaps it's because he's aided by a fantastic score by the versatilte James Newton Howard, a score that brings to mind the best work of that legend of film music Bernard Herrman. He's also aided by solid cinematography by Tak Fujimoto and a splendid cast including the likes of Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, and a couple kids that are too talented for their age.

Sometimes it borrows too much from previous films. Sometimes one part of Graham Hess' character is emphasized too much and a past tragedy is delved into too deeply. And it probably lasts a little too long as Shyamalan could have used without the blatant sentimentality of his final few shots. But Signs is something that most will heartily enjoy. Just bring something to cover your eyes.

On a scale of 1 to 10 wars of the world : 7